How do we know if we have been good enough to make it into heaven and avoid hell? You can know that you are not.

We All Fail To Keep The Commandments. We All Need Jesus. The emphasis on avoiding hell and getting to heaven is sometimes over-done. This misses the glory that is available in God. Jesus is the only one who can reconcile us to God.

Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"

We have not pleased God. God is absolutely holy and just. Justice must judge all that falls short of absolute holiness.

Hebrews 10:28-30 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth to me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

You can see that Hebrews 10:28-30 is written to Christians who have been sanctified. Even after we are born again, it is important that we remember that salvation is about a relationship with God.

1Jo 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

No one can find any other way to approach God other than through Jesus Christ.

Time does not erase sin. Saying you are sorry does not erase sin. If someone else is worse than you, that does not erase your own sin. No human being has the ability to be totally holy--total holiness is what God needs.

Someone has to pay the price. That's why Jesus (God) had to pay the price.

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin to salvation.

Many unsaved people think that they will not be judged, that they don't need Jesus, but they are wrong.

Hebrews 2 tells us plainly that we will not escape if we neglect such a wonderful salvation. God is merciful and God is just. Only those who persist in rejecting God will find themselves in hell. Only those who reject the salvation that is available in Jesus Christ will find themselves in hell. Those who reject Jesus are already condemned because they have rejected God's mercy. They do so because they love darkness rather than light.

If we sin after we have been born again, our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus, because we accept God's salvation.

Once we have been born again, we have changed family affiliations. Satan had been our master due to our obedience to him. Romans 6:16 As children of God, we are in school. This is not the final exam but rather the exercises of learning to walk in the Spirit.

If we are born again and we sin, we are not lost but can repent sincerely and stop sinning.

1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I to you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

That's why the Holy Spirit was given to bring us to the "measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." Ephesians 4

The Holy Spirit gives us holiness.

Those who insist that there must be error in the Bible or that the Bible is no longer relevant do so because they hate God and they love sin.

The idea that the Bible has errors is, in fact, the act of trying to make human speculation equal to God's revelation. It is the sin of rebellion, which is as the sin of witchcraft. In reality, no one has ever found an error in the Bible. If you have ever rebelled in this way, then you need Jesus and the salvation that is only available through Him.

Books like the DaVinci Code are the false hope of unbelievers. The false prophets who present such ideas will share the just rewards for their acts and words.

2 Peter 2:1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

Have you ever scoffed at the Bible? That is rebellion. God forbids it and judges it. If you have ever scoffed, then you need Jesus and the salvation that is only available through Him.

God commands us to study His word. How are you doing? Have you ever had lapses in this? If you have ever been neglectful, then you need salvation. You need forgiveness, which is only available through Jesus Christ.

It's not possible to be "good enough" to please God without Jesus.

Some people may rationalize that they are pleasing God when they are not pleasing God. The Bible tells us that even our righteousness is as filthy rags. Someone may disagree and defend himself or herself. God really doesn't care about human opinions. He has His own opinion, and He has all power and dominion. God lets us know His opinion in two ways. He does so through our conscience and through the Bible, and those two are never in conflict. We can sear our conscience so it no longer works. Much of what is called psychology consists of methods that are designed to short-circuit the conscience. If we set our mind against giving God any glory and persist in following out own minds, God will turn us over to our own unfruitful minds, but the conscience is still there letting us know that we are not coming up to what God expects of us.

You have not perfectly obeyed the Ten Commandments.

The 10 Commandments are part of God's law. Do you know the 10 commandments? Test yourself on these basic principles:

Is God first in your life or not? Do you love Him with all of your strength and mind or not? Are you sure that He has no competition for your affection or is there something or someone who competes with God? Is there anything else that you want as much as you want God? Is all your mind to do God's will in everything or are there areas of your life where you do not want to do God's will? Do you want, with all your heart, to have a personal relationship with God, to know Him personally or not? In all of that, is there any violation of the first commandment?

Have you ever used God's name or Jesus' name as a curse word? That is blasphemy. Have you ever thought that you were a god. The is blasphemy and idolatry. Have you wanted to do your own thing? That is also idolatry.

Have you ever disobeyed or talked back to your parents? Have you ever talked disrespectfully about your parents or those who are set into authority in the church? This is rebellion. The Bible says that the sin of rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.

Have you ever worked on Saturday? If you have not received the salvation, you are under obligation to obey the entire law of God.

Have you ever looked at a person to whom you were not married and lusted after them? This is adultery, fornication, or else it's perversion in God's eyes.

Have you ever wished that something bad would happen to someone? Have you ever hated someone? Have you ever hurt anyone? These all break the law: "Thou shalt not kill."

Have you ever taken something home from work or used some of your paid time to do personal work? That is stealing? Have you ever shoplifted? That is stealing. Have you ever cheated on your taxes? That is stealing. Have you ever taken anything that belonged to someone else? That is stealing.

Have you ever said anything false about any person? Have you ever repeated gossip? Have you ever accused someone of anything when you really didn't have first hand knowledge that your accusation was 100% correct? Have you ever accepted the accusations against a person in political office not knowing by your own observation whether or not those accusations were true or not.

Have you ever envied the rich? Have you ever wished you had something that belongs to someone else?

If you have failed in any of the points above, then you are guilty of the entire law of God.

James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

Of course you failed. Everyone has failed. That is why we all need Jesus Christ. We need to receive His salvation.